A hunter's last hurrah
by Some Welsh Guy
Summary: An old predator has one last hunt before he hangs up his wrist blade for good


Brawler awoke to the incessant beeping of his ship's alarm. The old yautja's eyes blinked open as he neared the game planet. He growled as his old bones creaked as he made his way to his preparation chamber. His hunting armour stood across from his cabinet of paints and braids. Brawler looked himself in the mirror. The once yellow skin, mottled with black was now a faded white with black patches. His sunken, yellow eyes were ringed by now dull quills. His dreadlocks had turned a dark gray at their tips. Brawler growled at the old one before him. He hated the idea of turning too old to continue hunting. Still, the fact that his techniques and knowledge would now be passed on to the pups as they grew into the next generation gave him some solace. The yautja had made it into his third century, a feat that many failed to attain. While he'd miss the thrill of the hunt, the respect he'd earn and the pride he'd feel in his students would likely keep him going into his fourth. Brawler noticed the small red light flashing next to his mirror. He pressed the small screen and read the message that appeared. They had arrived.

Brawler quickly washed himself and headed to the cockpit. The young ones that would assist him on his final hunt were already waiting, clicking in excitement at watching an elder's hunt first hand. The two bowed their heads in respect as Brawler made his way into the room. The younger of the two, Trapper, handed Brawler a pad. The screen lit up and Brawler read the information on his quarry. The two had abducted three creature from a planet known as Earth. One was to test his wit, the other his might, and the third his adaptability. Brawler's mandibles formed a small grin at the prospect of such an intriguing hunt. The elder nodded and left to don his armour as the young ones prepared his pod.

As Brawler descended onto the game planet, he read over the files. The three creatures on his list were known as a grizzly bear, a human and an orca. The humans were a favourite prey for many other hunters Brawler hand met with. Earth was a popular hunting ground, and Brawler was excited to finally be able to hunt some of its inhabitants. Brawler braced for impact as his pod landed a few miles south of his nearest quarry. Leaving the pod, Brawler's bio mask flared to life and filtered the air to a more comfortable standard. The yautja read some basics on his first prey as he leaped from tree to tree, keeping eyes out for its container. The bear was first on the list. The creatures were large, as tall as many yautja when standing upright, and their strength was a match as well. The animals were hardy beings, one of the more ferocious terrestrial hunters from Earth. Brawler was excited to see just what they were capable of. The hunter came upon the bear's container. Its parachute has deployed and it seemed the animal had made it out safely. Brawler fiddled with his mask and began to transmit his mask's view to the ship. He could imagine the young ones' faces as they watched an elder at play.

Brawler switched his mask's vision to Thermal. He could see a faded heat source leading away from the container. The quarry no doubt. He stalked silently from the trees, tracking his prey's trail. Brawler stopped when he saw a large, moving heat source. His bear was breathing heavily as it looked about. Brawler could tell the animal was distressed, and likely very aggressive. He jumped from the tree and landed a few meters away. The bear turned at the sound and stood upright. It would have stared Brawler in the eyes were it not for the hunter's mask. Brawler extended his gauntlet's blade. The high pitched sound of the metal blade coming free seemed to be the last thing the bear needed to attack.

As it charged, Brawler leaped to the side. The hulking animal turned to his hunter and swung its meaty paw. Brawler brought his arm up to block, and was met with several claws raking across his flesh. His bio luminescent blood splattered against a tree as Brawler grunted from the pain. Brawler jumped over the animal and brought his gauntlet's blade to the beast's back. Thick red liquid began to seep down the animal's sides as Brawler landed in a defensive stance. The bear turned and rose to its hind legs. Brawler could tell it was trying to scare him off. As the animal roared again, the hunter ran in and tackled the beast. The bear's strength was great, but Brawler had fought many creatures larger than himself and threw the bear off balance. The animal grunted as it hit the ground. Brawler stabbed his gauntlet into the beast's throat. The animal thrashed as Brawler held his position. Within a few moments, the thrashing ceased. Brawler withdrew his blade and stood. He regained a steady breath as he sent a message to his ship from his gauntlet. He received confirmation of another pod's detachment. The yautja within would retrieve his kill and bring it to his ship, ready for Brawler to take his trophy. Brawler left to track his next target before the pup arrived.

Next on his list was the human. Brawler had heard stories of the human prey his peers had faced. Depending on the individual, it seemed humans were fond of laying traps. The human's file indicated a background filled with hunting and trapping. Brawler decided to leave the human alone and hunt him tomorrow. He hoped there would be a few traps waiting when he turned his sights on the thing. For now, Brawler made his way to the coast.

Brawler had only fought in the water once before, and it wasn't against a creature like this orca. The novelty of such a foe was intriguing to Brawler as he arrived at the beach. He could see the container's parachute floating in the water a few hundred feet off shore. He saw a large black fin break the surface and a spurt of water accompanied it. Brawler clicked curiously as he adjusted his bio mask. He dipped his head under the water to ensure its aquatic mode was functioning correctly. No faults. Brawler dove in after his prey.

The animal's file indicated a common nickname was killer whale. The moniker intrigued Brawler. The hunter's thermal vision was near useless within the water's insulation. He adjusted its settings and switched it to the electro magnetic spectrum. The clear waters allowed the hunter to see his prey's container at the bottom of the ocean clearly. As the looked around for his quarry, his mask detected some high pitched squeaking and clicks from below. He looked down just in time to see the orca clamp its jaws onto the hunter and leap out of the water. Brawler howled in pain as a dozen sharp teeth pierced his hide. As he was dragged back under the water, Brawler unsheathed his wrist blade. The hunter saw the dolphin's large black eye and buried his blade down to his fist. The orca screeched in pain as it released Brawler from its grasp. Brawler was left floating, surrounded by the orca's dark blood and his own glowing blood. The cloud made it impossible to see, but his mask had the orca's calls locked. He tracked the sounds and braced as the orca charged him from the side. Brawler placed his feet onto the animal's lower jaw, gripped its upper jaw and held it open. Brawler was carried along underwater, staring down the killer whale's gullet. The yautja hated to use his plasma cannon, and he was unsure how it would react to being fired underwater, but he saw no other option in his situation. The small firearm extended fro his shoulder and three guiding beams lit up from its wielder's mask, aimed down the orca's throat. Brawler held his breath as he fired the cannon. The bright blue blast shot down the animal's throat and burned a hole in its gut. It thrashed around and tossed Brawler aside as it spewed blood. Brawler took aim and fired a second shot into the creature's side. The plasma burned through the hide and tore a hole in the beast's torso. The orca ceased its movement as it began to float up to the surface. Brawler made his was to the shore and staggered back to land. The yautja tore his bio mask off and coughed up a hint of blood. He sent for the orca to be taken back to the ship as he set about patching himself up.

By the time Brawler had sewn himself back together, the pup arrived. The young yautja sent for drones to carry the orca to his pod. The older of Brawler's assistants, a pup by the name of Falconer, looked worried as her elder. Brawler grinned and stood. He gestured to his wounds and gave an amused clicking. Falconer seemed relieved as she returned to her pod and awaited to see her elder's final kill. Brawler looked to the sky and could see that the suns were getting low. He elected to make camp in a makeshift tree for the night. As morning came, Brawler caught a small bird and ate as he made his way to the human's container.

Brawler kept his mask set to the electro magnetic spectrum. The file indicated that the human saw in the same spectrum, so its traps would be harder to spot if the yautja mimicked its sight. Brawler arrived at the empty container and began to track the human's prints. As Brawler tracked, he stopped just short of a thin wire made form fiber stretched across the game trail. Stepping over the trap, Brawler couldn't help but laugh at the simplicity. His laughter stopped as an arrow pierced his shoulder. He growled as he ducked behind a tree. He ripped the arrow from his shoulder. It was a simple wood and stone projectile, but it seemed the human knew how to make quick work of its surroundings. Brawler set his gauntlet to fire small bolts and peeked around the tree. He could barely make out the camouflaged shape of his quarry before another arrow stuck itself into the tree mere inches from his face. Brawler pulled back and grinned beneath his mask. He snuck around and flanked the human. He could see the human had a makeshift bow trained on Brawler's last location. As he approached, Brawler hired his bolt at the bow. The weapon was torn in half as the human turned in shock. It staggered to its feet as Brawler approached. The yautja removed his mask and set it down, making sure the young ones could see the coming fight. The human's expression became one of confusion as it looked over Brawler's features. The yautja tossed a hunting knife to the human's feet before drawing his writs blade. The human took up the knife and took a defensive stance. It seemed as though they had some form of training. Brawler grinned as he approached casually. He easily deflected the human's panicked swipes. It only took a few seconds to disarm his opponent. Brawler grabbed the human by the throat and threw it against a nearby tree. The human crawled about, dazed as Brawler walked over. The yautja stabbed his writ blade into the human's chest and lifted it with his blade. The human stopped moving as Brawler sheathed his blade a final time for the hunt. Brawler contacted his assistants and accompanied Trapper back to his pod.


End file.
